


Messages, Memories, and Missing You

by Anonymous



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Beach Volleyball, Brazil, Confessions, Flashbacks, Fluff with a Sad Ending, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, Long-Distance Friendship, M/M, POV Oikawa Tooru, Pre-Relationship, Social Media, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24595009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: A series of text messages they shared while Oikawa was overseas, featuring his two week stay in Brazil.>iwa-chan: oi shittykawa, are you awake?>iwa-chan: nevermind, i’m just thinking out loud>shittykawa: no no i’m awake iwa-chan what’s up? I just landed in brazil :p
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 11
Kudos: 25
Collections: Anonymous





	Messages, Memories, and Missing You

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to [Moni](https://twitter.com/shorterlovebot)

Slide up, turn off airplane mode, slide back down, open up social media.

Reaching out his arm, Oikawa winked at the camera, clicking the circle on the screen to snap a selfie of himself right after he landed. A  _ few _ filters and a bold banner spelling “Just Landed in Brazil” later he was off trying to post the picture on his social media account, @KingOikuwu, while his teammates rolled eyes at him.

Yes his account was made ages ago and he never bothered to change his tag.

“Got to keep the fans fed,” he explained to no one at all.

Stepping off, he lugged his luggage to the hotel, which was fairly close to the beach. Since he joined the Argentine League, they’ve been constantly moving around like this and being completely across seas, contact back to Japan was rough.

But typically, on hotel WiFi it was alright.

Despite the exhausting airplane flight, he immediately whipped out his phone once he reached the hotel and quickly found the WiFi on a paper there. Eyes darting between the paper and his phone as he typed it in, then came waiting anxiously as the circle spun to connect. 

When the signal finally worked, he immediately went to his messages. It opened up to a group chat of his ex-teammates from high school. Rolling his eyes, Oikawa scrolled through mostly a bunch of memes and Iwa-chan scolding everyone to sleep when messages were sent at ungodly hours. 

Even further up the chat was when he left to go overseas. He simply sent a quick “bye everyone~” in the chat before leaving for the Leagues before anyone could stop him. After that was followed by tons of confusion and “wtf”.

And to that, Iwaizumi replied in his DM’s.

> iwa-chan: have fun, don’t you dare bring back some foreign bug

> shittykawa: awww sounds like you worry abt me sm iwa-chan *heart emoji*

There was no reply after that. It wasn’t abnormal to be fair, Iwaizumi often left chats on read because he was too busy to answer or forgot over time. Other times he would ignore everything Oikawa even asked just to bring up another topic. 

Oikawa never minded, as long as he got to hear from his favorite person.

The words “favorite person” lingered a little too long on his mind, spinning like a bottle as he rested his head on the pillow. He was about to fall into a slumber when his phone shook next to him. Jolting up, his eyes widened at the sender.

Scrambling up, he flicked on the lamp.

>iwa-chan: oi shittykawa, are you awake?

>iwa-chan: nevermind, i’m just thinking out loud

>shittykawa: no no i’m awake iwa-chan what’s up? I just landed in brazil :p

>shittykawa: but also isn’t it late in jp too, aren’t u the one who hates staying up late

>shittykawa: well you tell us to sleep before 11 PM, but you sleep late too

>shittykawa: hey don’t pretend you don’t hear meeee

Pouting at the lack of reply for about five minutes, he figured Iwaizumi just texted those two messages before putting his phone down to sleep. Typical. Just the thought of knowing his childhood friend like the back of his hand put a smile on Oikawa’s face.

“Good night, Iwa-chan,” he called out to the night sky, eyelids drooping as he turned to his side, casting his farewells to the illumination from his phone.

⬖𝄋⬗

_ Beep. Beep. Beep. _

Groaning, Oikawa fumbled a hand out of his covers, hand catching on his phone before pulling it in the warmth of the blanket. Blurry eyes stared at the screen as his finger went up to press the “stop alarm” button. 

Sighing in silence, he stared at his lock screen. The time was 8 AM, the date June 26th, his battery at 32% and his lock screen picture was a selfie taken with his high school teammates. For the record, he took the picture so his face took up half the screen.

That aside, he pressed his finger to the home button, unlocking the phone and clicking to his messages first. They were empty so he headed over to his social media.

“Crap, the post from yesterday never sent,” he cursed silently, sending that back into the drafts until it became relevant again.

@KingOikuwu posted: good morning everyone, guess who’s going to spend a day on Brazil’s beaches? [image]

“And perfect,” Oikawa smirked, bouncing off his bed to get changed and take a quick shower before he headed off towards his destination today. In the middle of getting out of the shower and getting changed, he noticed his phone ringing. Dropping his hands that were drying his hair with a towel within seconds. 

>iwa-chan: how are you doing overseas?

>shittykawa: iwa-channn :o

>shittykawa: so you really do careeee about meeee i’m so flattered

>shittykawa: IM KIDDING IM KIDDING DON’T GHOST ME

>shittykawa: i’m doing well actually, i got to play with so many great people

>shittykawa: wish you could meet them too!

Sighing, Oikawa put down his phone, trying to compose his words. There was so much conflicted feeling pooling in his gut whenever someone mentions going overseas. Part of him was excited to embrace his childhood hero and dream, but the other half of him dreaded leaving everyone he knew behind and going out into the world alone. Knowing him, he made friends with his team quickly, but there was still a sense of missing someone to set to.

“Shut up, stop being homesick,” he mumbled to himself, scratching the surface of his skin irritatedly. “I have to prove myself after--”

>iwa-chan: i’m glad you got the chance to go over actually

>iwa-chan: fuck, ignore that last message

Picking up his phone again, he looked fondly at those two lines. Just a few words chased most of his worries away.

>shittykawa: thanks, won’t ignore that ever tho :>

>shittykawa: after all, my  _ favorite person _ just said he’s happy for me~

He could feel the eyeroll that Iwaizumi probably sent him from miles away. One that looked sarcastic and detached, but actually was quite fond, eyes twinkling with amusement if one peered closely enough. 

The first time Oikawa was on the receiving end of this eyeroll, he pouted and chased after his childhood friend complaining. The second time, he watched his friend’s eyes so long the latter questioned it. The third time onwards, he accepted it as something that he held dear to himself, praising himself in noticing those little details that laid ingrained in his mind.

_ Ping. _

Another notification popped up but this time it wasn’t a text but rather a reminder. “Remember to go out today, buy some food.”

“Ah, right...I set that reminder on the airplane,” Oikawa sighed, gathering his bags and heading out, leaving his connection behind to traverse Brazil with little knowledge of the roads. Long story short, he definitely wouldn’t admit it, but he got lost.

But hey, at least he got some good sightseeing photos to post on the way.

⬖𝄋⬗

Eight and a half hours later, he came back and collapsed on the bed, grumbling as his phone shook with new notifications. Oikawa scrolled through most of them without a second thought, tapping out some carefree reply to messages.

After, he opened up his social media and carefully posted the pictures from earlier that day, cursing when one picture refused to upload. 

@KingOikuwu: Didn’t get to the beach quite yet~ but found a cat on the side of the road, look how cute she is [image]

@KingOikuwu: Thank you very much for the meal, Brazil, first bite here [image] 

_ Your previous post did not send, try again? _

@KingOikuwu: Hey look found a fan hereeee! [image]

His temporary rage was offset by a notification from the top of his screen. Eyes lighting up, he dragged the banner down and read the message. 

>iwa-chan: if you ever come back, i moved my things back to my parents house

Flipping over to his stomach, Oikawa let a smile tug at the sides of his mouth. How did Iwaizumi always have such perfect timing?

>shittykawa: hey good timing! Just got back :D

>shittykawa: to the hotel i mean lol

>shittykawa: the connection here is so shiftyyyy hmph

>shittykawa: and why’d u move back? Thought u were doing fine in ur apartment

>shittykawa: u can tell me uk?

>shittykawa: ...i mean ahaha maybe tmrw, its late, gnight iwa-chan

_ Love you _ . Oikawa nearly choked as he looked at the predictive text that followed after that text. Cursing at his phone, he flicked on do not disturb mode so he could sleep, mumbling something that sounded a lot like “phones know too much now”.

⬖𝄋⬗

The next few days, Oikawa swore he wouldn’t get lost anymore, so he quickly found a way to download a map of the streets so he could get around without connection. By the fourth day, he found himself wandering off to the beach that night.

“Perfect,” he thought to himself, taking out his phone and angling it to capture the ocean and sand beneath his feet when something caught his eye.

Or rather a sound caught his ears.

“Nice kill!”

Blinking a few times to allow his eyes to focus, he realized he wasn’t dreaming. In front of him was none other than the boy who flew, Hinata. Awestruck, the words “Eh, this can't be true” slipped out of his mouth and caught the attention of the other.

Orange hair turned, eyes blowing wide, “The grand king?!”

“Um,” Oikawa began awkwardly, shoving his phone down his back pocket, mentally jotting down to scream off someone’s ear later. “What are you doing here--”

Hinata bounced over, kicking sand all over, “Learning beach volleyball! What about you?”

“I’m in the Argentine League, we’re staying here for two weeks.”

That only seemed to somehow excite the younger even more, who insisted they catch up and play volleyball later. They chatted this off during dinner together where Hinata went through how he ended up in Rio while Oikawa mentioned how he left for Argentina to study setting right after he graduated from high school.

Hearing his story, Hinata commented, “You and Iwazumi-san were quite close weren’t you? Are you two still in contact?”

“Mhmm,” Oikawa nodded with a smirk on his face. “He texts me all the time.” 

“Yosu! You two always seemed inseparable to me! Like two peas in a pod that helped bring out the fwoosh and wa bam in each other!” Hinata explained, arms waving wildly in some explanation that Oikawa did not quite understand.

_ Inseparable.  _ That’s one way to say it. What would he be without Iwa-chan’s little nicknames for him. What would Iwa-chan be without his charm, or um--

“You two really act like,” Hinata paused, eyes widening and spreading his arms wide, “Like this!” Whatever that meant...

Raising an eyebrow, Oikawa commented, “No one knows what you mean--”

“Like you were meant for each other!”

Choking, Oikawa dipped his head so the other couldn’t see the blush climbing up his face. He could blame the flush on his coughing later but, he knew why his heart’s rate was increasing because someone thought they could be meant for each other. Just knowing someone out there thought they were perfect for one another meant something. Probably meant Oikawa wasn’t some lovesick idiot that fantasied everything. 

“Oh no, I’m sure we aren’t,” Oikawa mustered, “Its late now I better head back and--”

“Alright!” Hinata nodded vigorously, “Play with me sometime?”

A smirk. “Damn right you better hit my sets for you.”

⬖𝄋⬗

>shittykawa: you’d never guess who i met today

>shittykawa: i’ll give you a hint bc i care for ur sanity, orange

He was about to put his phone away when he saw the three dots at the corner of the screen, signifying that he would get a message soon. Perking up, he waited a while only to be disappointed. “Not going to play my guessing games?”

>iwa-chan: while i’m still here, i guess i should write something

>iwa-chan: they told me it’ll be a good use to my time

>shittykawa: so mean iwa-chan, ignoring me like that, i’ll cry ;-;

>shittykawa: but what do you mean? Where are you?

>shittykawa: stay safe, kay? miss u, gnight

“Fuck, I really do miss him don’t I?” Oikawa muttered, covering his eyes with the inside of his arm. Without realizing it, he dozed off in this position, his dreams soft of imagining what they could be if only he had the courage.

It was just three words. Why was it so hard?

⬖𝄋⬗

Sunlight filtered through the curtains. The sounds of footsteps passing by his door. Birds chirping outside, welcome him into a new day. Soft blankets wrapped around him, enveloping him in warmth. 

But still, Oikawa was not a morning person.

“Shut up you stupid alarm, I hear you,” he yelps, tossing his phone on the other side of the bed, knowing he’d regret that once he was slightly less groggy. But for now he just wanted a little more sleep--

_ Bang. Knock. Knock.  _ “Oikawa-san, let’s go play!” 

“Fuck, right I promised the kid I’d play beach volleyball with him,” Oikawa cursed, regaining his senses slowly. Enough to open the door for Hinata at least, who looked way too upbeat for this early in the morning. In contrast, Oikawa fell asleep in his clothes and his hair was spiking up on one side. Fuck mornings.

Hinata came in, pouncing onto Oikawa’s bed and beginning to talk quickly about something that breezed past the other. “And then-- oops I kicked your phone. Why just leave it on the bed? Hm?” Hinata picked up the phone. “Oh you have notifications from Iwaizumi-san!”

“Hah?!” Oikawa said, reaching to quickly snatch the phone and open it with his fingerprint. The message app opened.

>iwa-chan: hey, do you remember that day when we were children

>iwa-chan: when we went to the park that day?

>iwa-chan: nevermind, you probably won’t get it

>shittykawa: huhhhh?? of course i remember, who do u think i am

>shittykawa: the day we were playing with kites and i fell off the tree?

He smiled softly at the memory. Their parents insisted they go out and play so they went to the nearby park. There, Iwaizumi revealed his parents just bought him some kites and they could play together. 

_ “Iwa-chan!” Oikawa had squealed excitedly, grabbing the blue kite. “Let’s fly let’s fly!” _

_ Sending a toothy grin his way, Iwaizumi unravelled the strings and they set off, running to the top of the hill and watching the wind whisk the kites out of their hands. Watching in awe as the tails of the kites fluttered behind them, dancing with the leaves and fluttering towards the clouds. _

_ “Hey, your kite is higher,” Oikawa whined, which gave the child a terrible idea, to move even closer in an attempt to overtake the other’s kite, only for the two strings to tangle and they could do nothing but stare in panic as they fell in streaks of color right into a tree. Blood draining from his face, Oikawa rushed over to the tree, climbing it despite Iwaizumi’s shouts not to. _

_ “Stupid Oikawa, get down.” _

_ But it was far too late, as Oikawa had already reached the kites near the top of the tree. Looking down, he suddenly felt ill. Clutching the trunk of the tree, he shook. _

_ “Iwa-chan,” he shook, “I think I’m stuck.” Eyes downcast, he felt tears pool in his eyes. _

_ A pair of eyes stared back at him, worry crinkling the edges of them. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you down. Trust me okay?” _

_ “Alright Iwa-chan,” Oikawa mumbled, reaching out his hand to mock salute his friend, which turned out to be a mistake as he lost his balance and within seconds, he felt the ground under his knees, scraping them and making him bleed. That’s when the tears started flowing out of his eyes. _

_ Fear flickered across Iwaizumi’s face as he rushed over, laying a napkin over the open wound. “Didn’t I tell you to wait? Come on, don’t cry.” He leaned down, giving the scrape a quick peck. “I’ll protect you okay? Next time you need anything, wait for me okay, Oikawa? I promise to be there because we are best friends!” He gave a toothy smile to prove his point and Oikawa grinned back. _

“Oikawa-san,” a voice inquired, “You seem really happy to be texting him.”

“Huh?” Oikawa turned, blinking out his daydreaming. “Oh yeah huh sure-- wait.” He peered at Hinata. “Happy to be texting him? It's not like we don’t text each other, why would I seem real happy?”

Hinata shrugged, “Dunno, just seemed like your smile was much more tender than normal. You just seemed chipper.”

“Ah, I see--” Oikawa smiled, confused. “Either way, weren’t we going to play volleyball?”

Just the notion of the sport sent the other in another excited fury, dragging the older to get ready and sooner than later, they ended up on the beach where they took the one picture that sent all their teammates into an uproar. 

>KingOikuwu: we met in rio!! [image]

⬖𝄋⬗

In the middle of all his social media notifications about the post, he found a stack of messages from Iwa-chan. All led to different conversations, which was a little strange but he brushed it away as he replied.

Swiping to reply, he started with the first stack.

>iwa-chan: what about that night in high school, after the game 

>iwa-chan: or am the only one that remembers?

>shittykawa: why are you doubting my memory todayyy

>shittykawa: how could i forget that night, it was so romantic ;D 

>shittykawa: who knew you were such a softie under all those insults~

He wouldn’t be lying if he said he remembered every memory he made with his childhood friend. After all, all those times they spent together were ingrained in his brain.

_ That night, he found himself wandering the backs of their school, lost in thought despite their recent win against quite a strong team. It felt nice to win, sure, but was he enough? Unease bit at his conscience and he fumbled with his fingers. Before long, he found himself seated at a bench, gazing at the sky for far too long to be considered normal. It was serene, peaceful, unlike the raging storm within him. _

_ “There you are,” Iwaizumi sighed, sitting besides him. “Been looking for you.” _

_ Oikawa tilted his head, “Iwa-chan, how nice to see you here I was just looking at the um sunset.” _

_ “Bullshit.”  _

_ “Think whatever you like,” Oikawa replied, directing his gaze back at the setting sun. _

_ A hand ruffled his hair. “We both know you’re overthinking. So stop thinking.” Eyes wandered to the divide of colors of orange and red at the horizon. “Trust yourself. And if you can’t, trust me and the fact I will have your back. Promise.” Determined eyes turned his way, unwavering. _

_ “You better keep that promise, Iwa-chan.” _

⬖𝄋⬗

A second swipe, glancing up momentarily to read the time as 8:03 PM. His battery was running low so he took the time to plug his charger in.

>iwa-chan: are the beaches overseas pretty? 

>iwa-chan: wish i could go to a beach with you one more time

>shittykawa: hah what does that mean? 

>shittykawa: i’ll pick u up once i get back, get ready your beach shorts

>shittykawa: ps you’ll never beat me anymore

_ Once I get back _ . Oikawa chuckled to no one at all in the room, thinking about how it’ll feel to be back in Japan. Perhaps he’d take a week off after the trip in Brazil just to visit his family and friends. Would they be surprised to see him? Would Iwa-chan be happy? 

⬖𝄋⬗

The final message he left unread.

>iwa-chan: the neighbors came over today to give me some buns

>iwa-chan: somehow they reminded me of you so i sent this

>shittykawa: haha remind you of me? 

>shittykawa: were u remembering that one time i steamed buns for u?

>shittykawa: WHICH btw were great :<

Which was in fact probably a lie, but he’d let that slide. Sure he had made buns for himself and his family but when they ended up a tad lopsided to say the least, he opted to not show his parents due to the fact they would surely make fun of him. Instead, he dropped them off to the Iwaizumi household.

>shittkyawa: [image] im its late, talk to u later iwa-chan!

⬖𝄋⬗

The next text from he Iwa-chan was received a week later. He had gone down to the beach again to watch Hinata play a match and was honestly in awe at how the younger had grown so quickly and played now like the sand belonged to him.

But coming back, his eyes softened.

>iwa-chan: you saying safe?

>shittykawa: thought u’d never ask

>shittykawa: i’m happy over here i mean, i miss home but, im safe

>shittykawa: what abt you? hope you’re staying happy 

He had hit send before he realized it. It wasn’t common for them to care about each other directly. It was always subtle things like passing over a towel, a hand on the shoulder when the other would overwork themselves, a midnight knock, a note in his backpack and so on.

Oikawa paused as more words came on screen.

>iwa-chan: will you come back to visit anytime?

>iwa-chan: book a flight, i want to see you

>shittykawa: what’s with the sudden change of mind? 

>shittykawa: keep it a secret, but i’ll be back in a few days ;D

>shittykawa: planning to drop by once we leave Brazil

He looked out the window, at the stars twinkling outside, writing a mental reminder to bid Hinata farewell once he left, for taking care of him.

>iwa-chan: please

>iwa-chan: i need to tell you something

>shittykawa: i will, promise

What did Iwa-chan have to tell him? Something serious if it had to be done in person, but it's not like he could catch an earlier flight. For now, all he had to do was wait those few days until he left and headed home for a bit.

@KingOikuwu: good night everyone zzz [image]

With that, he turned his phone off. The time was 11:46 PM on July 3rd.

⬖𝄋⬗

@KingOikuwu: coming back to japan today [image] bye brazil, love you

With many frustrated taps at the “try again” button to post, his connection finally went through. It was five days since his last text from Iwa-chan but that didn’t matter much considering they would see each other soon. 

“Take care, shrimp,” Oikawa grinned, reaching out his hand for a handshake. “Thanks for these two weeks, hope to see you soon.”

Hinata nodded vigorously. “Yes, sir! Thank you too! Say hi to Iwaizumi-san for me!”

Turning, Oikawa waved the other goodbye behind his back before heading off to the airport, anticipations gripping his nerves as he boarded, going through his phone routine and attempting to post one last picture before leaving.

It never sent.

⬖𝄋⬗

Rushing up the steps of the Iwaizumi household, his hands shook, ringing the doorbell. Fumbling with his phone, he realized in his rush there he forgot to turn off airplane mode. With one quick flick, he turned it off, only to be greeted by a wave of notifications.

>iwa-chan: guess you’re not coming back

>iwa-chan: it's alright

>iwa-chan: just wanted to tell you, i really like you 

>iwa-chan: been trying to voice this for months, but yeah

_ Months? _ Oikawa thought mentally, but he hardly started getting these messages for half a month ago. Something wasn’t adding up and the gear started to work in his head.

>iwa-chan: miss you 

>iwa-chan: wish we had more time 

Dread pooled in his stomach but he didn’t have time to reply as the door creaked open to reveal Hajime’s mother. Oikawa quickly put away his phone, sending his greeting towards her.

“Ms. Iwaizumi, how have you been?” 

She didn’t reply, yet her eyes softened slightly.

“Um, could I see Hajime?” he asked, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. Ms. Iwaizumi gave him another sad smile, before pointing down the hall. “Thank you.”

Toeing off his shoes, he counted the pairs at the doorway. Three pairs, including his own. Walking down the hall, all the windows were shaded. Keeping that in mind, he also noticed Ms. Iwaizumim was wearing all black.

Reaching the end of the hall, he knocked on the door.

“Iwa-chan, I’m coming in.”

There was silence on the other side of the door, so he pushed it open, the hinges creaking with age. Inside, he was hit with the scent of incense. The next thing he saw was the volleyball they used to hit around together, lying there in front of the shrine. Looking up, he saw an overly familiar smile looking back at him, covered in flowers.

“Hey, what does this mean, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa whispered, voice wavering. “Weren’t you just texting me a week ago?” Shaking, he repeated the routine he had done so many times. Press finger to the home button, click on the message app, click Iwa-chan’s contact. But this time, he added one more step, swiping right on the messages.

Faded grey text read:  _ Sent Mon June 18th, 11:09 AM _

The date was now July 9th. __

“This can’t be true, hey,” he asked again, sinking down on his knees, searching desperately through the messages to see where he went wrong. Was there a chance he could’ve saved Iwa-chan? His eyes zoned in on a familiar Godzilla phone case lying at the edge of the shrine. Taking it in his hands, typing in the date that night after the game.

It unlocked, opening Iwaizumi messages. Clicking on his contact.

>iwa-chan: sorry i cannot keep our promises anymore

>iwa-chan: i don’t think i’ll make it from this hospital bed though

> _ message unsent, hold to retry _

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa began to sob, tears dripping on the black screen, dripping down to the home button. “I would’ve said I like you too. Sorry but now, who am I supposed to love?” Smiling sadly at the framed picture, he asked again, “What am I supposed to do now without you?”

_ Hold. Tap. Click. Tap. Confirm. _

User @KingOikuwu cannot be found. Attempt a different search?

⬖𝄋⬗

Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> welcome to the end of my first hq fic...
> 
> messages do not work like this irl, but for the sake of this fic, I will take liberties to make her own magical angst world. Also this really was meant to be like 1.5K words... In addition, author (me) also forgot how to write fluff so like it prob doesn’t count as fluff...
> 
> tldr fluff with a sad ending should be a tag, and im WORKING ON IT ALRIGHT,,, check it out if you want from the tag, not my page because I'm going anonymous :D anyway, comments/suggestions/editing suggestions welcome below ahaha--


End file.
